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Author Topic: printer for greeting cards  (Read 2885 times)

mstevensphoto

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printer for greeting cards
« on: April 22, 2013, 09:40:46 am »

Hi folks,
   I have and love an ipf 8300 and want to start doing some small run (10-15) custom greeting cards, probably on the Museo offerings. If I do this I'll offer them as art cards that can be framed and therefore want a pigment printer. I really and truly hated my experience with my epson 22 or 2800 (don't recall the #). I hated everything about the experience of it. I know a lot has changed so I'm hopeful for your recomendation to fit these needs:

the printer may sit for a week or three unused, I'm not interested in buying new ink every time I want to use it.
I don't really think I need a 13x19 printer, I've got the big boy for that
I'd like to be able to easily feed more than one card at a time. preferably a dozen or so.
great alignment so I'm not redoing front and backs that don't match up.
takes a wide variety of sizes and shapes of greeting cards.

what would you buy?
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Wayne Fox

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2013, 01:00:24 pm »

Sounds like a 3880 is just the ticket. Rarely clogs even when left sitting for a few weeks at a time, can handle the cards pretty fine (if you print a large volume of cards all inkjet printers need some cleaning because the paper dust builds up on the rollers and you can get jamming or two cards pushed through at once.)

 We use one here at the shop to do short run cards on Moab pre scored paper.
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Czornyj

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2013, 03:06:07 pm »

I've made hundreds of greeting cards, invitations and other artsy custom prints on fine art papers using my iPF8300/6350. It's fast, it has huge carts full of inexpensive ink, and it prints on roll paper, which is cheaper.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=73138.0
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Marcin Kałuża | [URL=http://zarzadzaniebarwa

mstevensphoto

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2013, 04:15:40 pm »

I don't see how the 8300 is the ticket. it requires a huge margin on cut sheets, won't do anything as small as an a6 and certainly not borderless and it's laborious manual feed process is infinitely more complicated than dropping a sheet into a feed slot, let alone being able to stack a dozen in there.....what am I missing?
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Ken Doo

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2013, 07:40:29 pm »

I use a dedicated 4800 for cards----got a good deal on it and couldn't turn it down.  At the time it was a good match for my old 9800.  I think the 3880 would be a better choice and be more flexible with regard to card stock sizes. Using the paper tray is better than cutting off a roll.  Unless you like trimming...   I'd pick a 3880 up myself, but that old 4800 just won't die...   :)

ken

Paris1968

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2013, 09:55:06 pm »

I use the Epson 3880 for greeting cards and it does a fantastic job.  I've got a Canon 6300 and an Epson 7900, but I cannot load either of them with a stack of card stock as I can with the 3880.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2013, 09:57:10 pm by Paris1968 »
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Alan Goldhammer

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2013, 10:50:41 am »

I too use my 3880 for this and the Museo cards are thin enough that one can use the top feeder and stack about five cards at a time for printing.
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mstevensphoto

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2013, 10:51:50 am »

thanks guys, loading a stack of cards has huge value...about how many are you able to put in the 3880 without feed problems?
I have no desire to cut my cards out of a roll, score and fold them. I'll use pre-scored single sheet cards.
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mstevensphoto

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2013, 10:52:39 am »

and side question, does the 3880 get cranky if it sits unused for a couple weeks?
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epatsellis

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2013, 11:11:25 am »

My 8300 gets used quite a bit for notecards for other artists, ganged on a 22x30 sheet of Stonehenge, I've never had an issue. At around $2 a sheet, printed 10 up is very cost effective.

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Paris1968

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Re: printer for greeting cards
« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2013, 03:55:09 pm »

I don't know what the limit is, but I've dropped twelve or fifteen cards in the 3880 without any feed problems.  As to your other question, for whatever reason, the 3880 seems to immune from the normal Epson clogging problems.  Mine sat once for six months without use, and when I did a nozzel check, it was perfect.  In fact, in the three years I've owned it, I can only remember having to run a cleaning cycle once.
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